


Scribbled in Ink

by Ira123, museofknowledge



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Dubious Consent, M/M, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 10:11:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1004160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ira123/pseuds/Ira123, https://archiveofourown.org/users/museofknowledge/pseuds/museofknowledge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where everyone is born with a name on their wrist, it is rare that people actually find their matching wrist-name. Of course, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin prove to be the exception to that rule.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scribbled in Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Art by pkai7  
> Words by museofknowledge
> 
> Beta read by intrepidy and auhee. They were amazing and any mistakes left are my own. 
> 
> For the Hockey Big Bang challenge at Livejournal.

 

 

Sidney had had the name on the inside of his right wrist for as long as he could remember. He knew what it was, of course. Everyone had a name on one of their wrists that appeared at birth. Some of the more romantic poets and artists at some point in the past had started calling them “soulmate names”. The term became antiquated in the latter part of the twentieth century, but always experienced periodic resurgences amongst younger people who dreamed of their Disney-fied Prince Charming showing them their wrists and sweeping them off their feet. Or the teen movies featuring the most popular kid in the school pursuing the quiet, nerdy boy or girl in the background. As they grew older, the dreams switched to reflect the trope of the handsome diplomat running up to the hotel maid with his sleeve rolled up and pledging his undying love to her as he saw his name on her wrist.

 

The reality, though, was with seven billion people in the world now, and no easy way in the past of connecting with people who weren't in your immediate vicinity, there was very little chance that you would ever find the name on your wrist, either historically or in the present. Granted, there were now websites that, as the internet grew, set up online databases and became the _de facto_ way for people to attempt to find their wrist-name. The catch was, however, your wrist-name also had to be looking for you, and most people simply didn't care to go searching for the wrist-name.

 

After all, there was no guarantee that your wrist-name was a romantic match. The studies that had been done on the relatively few people who had found their wrist-name showed a variety of relationships between the pairs. Some, of course, were romantic, like the bond between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Some were bonds of friendship, platonic bonds that occurred between people of all sexes and ages. These were known, colloquially, as “best-friend bonds”. There were also sibling bonds, that were found between twins. Sibling bonds were also platonic bonds, with researchers believing that the close quarters in sharing womb-space brought about the development of this bond.

 

Regardless of the type of bond that two people had, there was a connection that existed between them. The few people that they had found to study who had found their wrist-names had all experienced a sense of what they could only describe as belonging with their partner, as well as an influence on emotions, where one partner could tell the emotions of the other through the bond, and could help to calm the other down when upset. The ones that had developed into a romantic bond were described as being characterized by a sense of wanting and lust, as opposed to a bond of friendship or a sibling bond, which this component was absent from. The sibling and platonic bonds still had the emotional component to them, though, as well as the feeling of belonging.

 

Really, though, the majority of the population gave their wrist-names little thought in their day-to-day adult lives. People still dated, married, had children, formed relationships and friendships with each other, regardless of the names on their wrists. When the name on your wrist was in a language that you couldn't even read or speak, or you knew that were never going to get out of your podunk town where everyone knew everyone else, and only associated with those same people their whole lives, there was little hope of finding your wrist-name, and so most simply put the name to the back of their minds, recalling it every so often, in a bit of daydream, or wondering what their lives would be like, had they met the person whose name was written on them.

 

So, Sidney knew what the name on his wrist meant, just like he knew what the _Jacqueline Morrow_ on his dad's and the _Mattias Pedersen_ on his mom's meant. Sid had no clue what the name on his wrist was, however. He knew that it was written in Cyrillic, from when he went through the same curiosity phase that the rest of his peers did in about the sixth grade and had tried to look up what the words actually said, but it was only just a passing fancy. A way to be like everyone else for once, instead of different from his peers.

 

Sidney had found the shape of the letters from an online website that compared different languages and their alphabets, but since he didn't know how to make the letters actually show up on his computer screen, he quickly lost interest. Besides, hockey took up most of his focus, anyway. It wasn't like he needed to know his wrist-name in order to play in the NHL.

 

There were a few players in the NHL that actually knew who their wrist-name was. The Sedin twins, for instance, had each other's names on their wrists, which the media liked to say explained their “freakishly coordinated play” with one another. However, this led to people, every year, wondering if this was giving them an unfair advantage, and if professional sports shouldn't make a ruling on people competing together if their wrist-names matched. The Sedins, though, were the only current players in any of the Big Four sports that had matching wrist-names with one another, and no one wanted to be the ones to rule based on one pairing. When tested separately on their hockey skills, the Sedins were just _that_ good, even though many of their critics said that their bond gave them an unfair advantage that enhanced their natural ability.

 

However, of the nine other players in the NHL who had found their wrist-name, none were fellow players. Five were the proclaimed “best friends” of the player, and four were wives or girlfrineds of the players, and so there was nothing concrete that would make the NHL, or any of the other Big Four sports rule against allowing people with matching wrist-names to play together.

 

So, as far as Sidney was concerned, the only thing that he needed to focus on was hockey. Not some random name that wouldn't mean anything to him in the future, anyway.

 

* * *

 

Halfway around the world, Evgeni Malkin also grew up knowing what the mark on his wrist meant. He was able to find the English letters easily and asked one of his teachers who was able to speak English what they spelled and sounded like. Evgeni was only thirteen, though. He sounded the words out a couple of times while his teacher looked at him approvingly, then pushed it away as unimportant. He had hockey. That was all that mattered. A weird English name on his wrist that his teacher couldn't even tell him if it was aboy or girl's name meant nothing to him, as long as he could play hockey and could make it to the NHL.

 

Evgeni was drafted, _second overall_ , and by the _Penguins_ of all teams. He was so excited to go to America and play. It was everything that he had dreamed of since he was a young boy back in Magnitogorsk. Playing for an acutal NHL team, and with _Mario Lemieux_. It was all that he ever wanted out of his life.

 

Then, the lockout happened.

 

Evgeni stayed in Russia to play for the KHL for the year during the lockout. He kept tabs on the news from the NHL, what was able to be translated into Russian, anxious for news of the lockout ending. He also kept up on reports of the prospects that were coming up, as much as to be connected to the league, as well as keeping tabs on who future teammates and opponents were going to be.

 

Finally, the news came that the lockout had ended. Evgeni prepared all of his belongings to get shipped to Pittsburgh and prepared himself to play for the Penguins. He kept his eyes out on the prospect reports that came through in Russian. These were going to be his competition, and his future teammates. One name started to appear more and more often in Evgeni's news articles. One that he recognized after seeing it every day on his wrist, staring back at him: _Sidney Crosby_.

 

The first time he saw the name, he did a double-take. You just did not expect to see your wrist-name in print like that. Didn't expect to see it written anywhere except on your own wrist. Evgeni began to pay closer attention to the articles that included Crosby's name. When the draft came and Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins, Evgeni was not surprised. After all, this was the kid who was making international headlines for what he could do on the ice and was called the second coming of Gretzky by Gretzky himself.

 

Evgeni figured that if this was the same Sidney Crosby as the name on his wrist, he wanted to meet him. He wanted the friendship that would no doubt come from the bond. First, however, he had to get to the Penguins.

 

This proved easier said than done, though. Russia did not seem to want him to leave. At all. He had his passport taken from him. He was continuously watched when he protested. He was promised that “soon”, he would be released from his contract with the KHL. He kept hearing, “When it's _time,_ Zhenya,” from his coaches and the management team. As time went on, however, it became too late for that year, and Evgeni resigned himself to yet another year not in the NHL.

 

The following year, after spending the summer turning the pros and cons over and over in his head, he made the decision that he wasn't going to be away from his team for yet another year. He loved Russia, but his real dream was to play in the NHL, among the greatest names in hockey. One night, on a team trip to Finland, Evgeni made his move.

 

* * *

 

Sidney was caught by Mario on his way out of practice on day.

 

“Sid, you should come to dinner at the main house tonight. Evgeni Malkin's in the States now and is coming around,” Mario said with an excited expression on his face.

 

“Malkin's here? I thought he was staying in Russia for another year?”

 

“They won't tell me everything that happened, just that he's in the States. They're sending Sergei down to meet him and his agent at the airport. Malkin's English isn't too great, so Sergei'll be there to help translate,” Mario said.

 

Sidney was excited to finally get to meet Malkin. He'd watched videos of him playing for Russia and admired the way Malkin handled the puck with ease, deking around defenders like they weren't even there and making amazing passes across the ice. He'd heard the news last year that Malkin had decided to stay in Russia for the year, even though the lockout was over, and play for them, as well as that he'd decided the same this year.

 

* * *

 

Evgeni was anxiously waiting for the cab to arrive at Mario Lemieux's house. Sergei, who Evgeni fortunately knew from his time playing for Magnitogorsk during the lockout, had met him and Barry at the airport with the much-welcome sound of Russian. In the midst of inviting Evgeni to live with him and his family, he had explained that Lemieux wanted to meet him and officially welcome him to the Penguins, so he had invited Evgeni, Sergei, and Evgeni's agent all to dinner. He had also explained that Crosby would be there as well. Even though he was utterly exhausted from his flight, Evgeni could barely contain himself at the thought of meeting Lemieux. It occurred to him in the car ride over that he could also possibly meet his wrist-name, which was an unexpected bonus.

 

Evgeni pulled himself out of his thoughts to hear Sergei say that they were there. He got out of the cab and walked up to the front door with Sergei and his agent. The door opened and he saw Mario Lemieux step out. He was speaking in English, which Sergei tried to quickly translate for Evgeni.

 

“He says that he is very happy that you've finally arrived and that the team is excited to have you here to come play. He is lying, by the way. None of us want you here. He is trying to make you feel better,” Sergei said with a grin at the last words.

 

“Tell him 'Thank you' and that I am very happy to be here with the Penguins. And also, fuck you, Sergei, you're going to be praising God that I'm here,” Evgeni said to Gonchar. Sergei repeated his words, or at least Evgeni hoped that he had said only the first sentence to Mario Lemieux.

 

A movement from inside the house caught Evgeni's eye. Mario must have seen it as well, because he turned his head and said something in English to Sergei and Evgeni's agent and motioned for them to follow him inside.

 

As Mario shut the door, Evgeni saw who it was that caused the movement that had caught his attention. Sidney Crosby stepped forward and said something to Evgeni, while extending his hand for him to shake. Evgeni looked to Sergei for help, as Sergei said something back to Crosby.

 

“He is saying 'Welcome to the Penguins' and that he hopes that you're happy to be here. He's also introducing himself. I told him that he was an idiot, that you already knew who he was,” Sergei said.

 

Evgeni grasped Crosby's hand in his own and looked into Crosby's welcoming face. He said, “Sidney Crosby.” Crosby's smile grew a little bit wider at the sound of his name coming from Evgeni's lips. “Evgeni Malkin,” he said as he shook Crosby's hand, looking for any recognition in the other man's face.

 

“He knows who you are, too, dumbass,” Sergei said to Evgeni with an eyeroll. “Now, come on and quit your mutual admiration society so that we can eat.”

 

Evgeni followed Mario, Crosby, Sergei, and his agent into the dining room where Mario's wife was just bringing out the last of the dishes. Everyone took a seat and Evgeni reflected on what just happened between him and Crosby.

 

There was no look of recognition in Crosby's eyes, other than simple welcoming of a fellow teammate. Evgeni simply shrugged it off mentally and figured that Crosby did not have Evgeni's name on his own wrist. There was no swooping feeling from the pit of Evgeni's stomach, or a bursting feeling in his chest when he shook Crosby's hand, contrary to what all the old romantic poems and novels stated happened when people whose wrist-names matched met one another. Or how all the songs seemed to describe it. There was simply the feeling of belonging and contentment that he had felt when he stepped into Mario Lemieux's house, with Evgeni finally in Pittsburgh, where he belonged. Where he had waited for years to be.

 

It must be some other _Sidney Crosby_ that was Evgeni's wrist-name. It wasn't that uncommon. After all, with seven billion people in the world, duplicates of wrist-names happened fairly often. It was a stupid thought anyway, that Sidney Crosby was really the match to his wrist-name. No one that Evgeni knew had found their wrist-names, why would he be the exception to that?

 

Evgeni pushed the thoughts of his wrist-name out of his head. He was there to play hockey. And with the team that drafted him, alongside the player that people were calling “The Next One.” It didn't matter if he found his wrist-name or not. Really, it didn't.

 

Evgeni couldn't wait to be out on the ice. _That_ was what mattered.

 

* * *

 

A few months after Evgeni had joined the Penguins, the team was on a short roadtrip through Florida. Evgeni had fallen into a comfortable routine with his new team where everything was going well. He had managed to put up points in each of his first six games. He was becoming friendly with other people on the team, other than Sergei, even though it was still difficult for him to communicate with his limited English. But, he was still in America, playing Penguins hockey, and loving every minute of it. To make it even better, he and Sidney seemed to have an instant chemistry on the ice, which only further helped cement Evgeni's feeling of belonging here.

 

It was nice, to feel so at home in a new place so quickly. With all of the issues over his getting here in the first place, Evgeni wasn't sure as to what type of reception he would receive in Pittsburgh when he first came to the United States, but he was thankful that it was a welcoming reception. All in all, things were looking pretty good for Evgeni Malkin.

 

* * *

 

The team was out to dinner at a restaurant the night before they played the Lightning, and Sidney was seated near one end, between Sergei and Colby. Most of his attention was focused on Colby, while Sergei spent the bulk of dinner engaged in low conversation with Evgeni in Russian.

 

Sidney reached across Sergei with a soft, “Excuse me,” for the water pitcher that was in front of him. Suddenly, Sid felt something wrap itself around his wrist, and when he looked down he saw that it was Sergei's hand.

 

“Evgeni Malkin,” Sergei said, softly. His eyes were wide and he was simply staring at Sidney's wrist.

 

“Yeah, Gonch. Geno's right there,” Sidney said, slowly.

 

“No. Name reads _Evgeni Malkin._ On wrist,” Sergei continued in the same, low voice. Sidney looked back down to his arm that was still caught in Sergei's hand to see that his shirt sleeve had ridden up to expose the letters on his wrist. It really wasn't something that had ever come up before. Sidney didn't often wear short sleeves out at events, and besides, everyone had a name on one of their wrists. It wasn't anything special, anything to remark upon.

 

“What are you talking about?” Sidney asked, keeping his voice low to match Sergei's pitch.

 

“Name. On wrist. Reads _Evgeni Malkin_. Why you not ever say before?” Sergei replied, tapping Sidney's wrist with his fingertips before letting him go. Sidney pulled his arm back and wrapped the fingers on his left hand around his wrist, looking closely at the writing on his own wrist for the first time in several years.

 

“What do you mean? Are you seriously saying that my wrist-name is Geno's name?”

 

“You not know? How that possible?”

 

Fortunately, they were speaking low enough, and everyone else was engrossed in their own conversations, that no one else had heard them so far. Sidney looked around Sergei at Evgeni, to see him focused on his dinner and not on the conversation that was happening right next to him. Sidney was thankful, for perhaps one of the first times since Geno joined the team, that Geno couldn't speak or understand English very well yet.

 

“Look, I've never actually found out what it meant. It wasn't important. Can we not talk about this here? Please?” Sidney wanted to avoid his teammates chirping as much as possible. For a bunch of grown men, his team sure did a lot of middle-school gossiping.

 

They finished the rest of the meal, even though Sid was withdrawn through much of it. Colby didn't seem to realize it though, and everyone else had apparently put it down to just another of Sid's idiosyncrasies. At the end of the meal, the team made their way back to the hotel. Sid tried to escape from Sergei and duck into his room, but Sergei caught his arm before he could get away. Sergei held Sid back as the rest of the team went around a corner and to their respective rooms,

 

“Okay, Sid. Why you not tell Zhenya that his name on your wrist?” Sergei began as soon as they were alone.

 

“I told you! I've never actually found out what it said before. I found out it was Russian, and just never got around to finding out what the words actually meant.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Sidney sighed. He hated trying to explain to people why he was the way he was. “It was always about hockey, growing up, you know? And I just never had time to do the research, and I was always gone at some game or tournament or practice or something. It's not like it was important to find out. Who cares what your wrist-name is? Besides, everyone was telling me not to let anything distract me from hockey, so why would I care?”

 

“Life not just hockey, Sid,” Sergei sad with a sad look in his eyes. “You can have relationships if you want them. If your name Zhenya's name, you should let him know,” Sergei finished while looking at Sidney disapprovingly.

 

“Why? You know that the odds of meeting your wrist-name are almost none! Why should I have to go through telling him about this, just to have him say that my name's not on his wrist!” Sid's voice kept getting louder the longer that he talked to Sergei.

 

“Sidney, quiet. Whole floor will hear. But, how you know if you not ask Zhenya? So sure that his name not match yours, but you do not know.”

 

“Because it's a distraction! Even if it matches, it's still a distraction that's going to take my focus away from hockey. And if it's not a match? It's just going to ruin everything that we've done so far.”

 

“Sid-,” Sergei stopped before finishing his sentence. “Fine, if not want Zhenya to know, I not tell. But still think you should.”

 

“Why though? You still haven't answered that.” By now, Sidney was fully frustrated with Sergei. It wasn't any of his business, nor did it matter for Sidney. The odds of Geno being the same _Evgeni Malkin_ that was on his wrist were slim to none anyway.

 

Sergei didn't seem to have an answer to the “Why?” question, though. He just shook his head and looked sadly at Sidney before turning and going down the hallway to his own room. Sid leaned against the hallway wall for a moment and closed his eyes, rubbing at his wrist through his shirt sleeve. He knew it wasn't actually Geno who was his wrist-name, but he still couldn't help but wonder, _what if_.

 

These thoughts needed to stop. This was turning into exactly what he was trying to avoid: distractions. Nothing would come of them. Shaking his head, Sidney pushed himself off the wall and returned to his room. He got undressed and climbed into bed, trying to studiously avoid the conversation that he had just had with Sergei. He rolled over onto his side, and determinedly thought about something, anything else. His breathing began to even out as he forced his mind to go over the statistics that he knew of the Lightning, who they were playing tomorrow, and soon, he fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the season and the majority of the next was spent with the team growing more and more comfortable with one another. Trades happened, Sidney was named captain, teammates came, others left, Sidney and Evgeni solidified their on-ice connection, and suddenly, it came time that the Pens were in the playoffs again. The team that they had built up that year gelled together and they were seeded second and had captured the Atlantic division title. They were confident and strong, and this was their year. This was the year that they would bring the cup back to Pittsburgh. Everyone on the team felt it.

 

The Penguins had swept the Senators out of the first round and were gearing up to play the Rangers in the second round. Sidney was speaking with reporters during a pre-game media scrum before the first game of the series, answering the usual questions about how they were going to go through the second round when everything went to hell in a second.

 

 

* * *

 

One of the reporters was finishing up a question regarding the Pens powerplay against the Rangers penalty kill when Sidney looked over at a loud shout from one of the reporters around Geno. The one who had shouted was staring at Geno's wrist where one of his shirt sleeves had ridden up when he had smoothed his hair back from his forehead. The other beat reporters had turned towards the one who had shouted and the reporters by Sidney also became distracted from Sidney and looked over at the outburst.

 

“Geno, why does the name on your wrist say 'Sidney Crosby'?” the reporter, who was still staring at Geno's wrist, asked.

 

“What mean? What name?” Evgeni asked, pulling down his sleeve fast, vainly trying to hide his wrist-name. The reporters around Sidney were now silent, waiting for Evgeni to explain.

 

“Geno, your wrist-name. It says 'Sidney Crosby'. Why? Hey! Crosby!” The reporter now turned all of his attention towards Sidney as he called across the locker room. “What's your wrist-name say?”

 

Sidney couldn't respond to him. All he could do was stare across the room at Geno's face, who looked just as shocked at being called out as Sidney felt at hearing his name. Distantly, Sidney heard the sounds of the rest of the locker room quiet, with reporters with the other players stopping their interviews to watch whatever was happening between Geno and Sid unfold.

 

_Oh. Fuck._ That was pretty much the entire being of Sidney's thoughts. This just didn't happen. People did not just randomly find their wrist-names. When you were young, you were taught that the chance of you finding your wrist-name were miniscule, to the point of being non-existant. This just _did not_ happen. This _could not_ happen.

 

“Hey, Sid! Sid!” were the words that pulled Sidney out of his quickly turning thoughts. He looked up at the reporter who had been asking him that last question about the power play. The man had an excited expression on his face that Sidney couldn't quite read. It was one between absolute glee at catching a new and exciting story, and one of shock at the revelation that he was one that could have the biggest story of the year in the NHL.

 

“Sid, Malkin has your name as his wrist-name. What does this mean for the two of you? Do you have his name?” the reporter asked.

 

“I- I, uh, I'm not, I mean,” Sidney looked over helplessly at the member of the Pens PR staff that was hanging around in the corner, who looked just as dumbstruck as he felt. He must have conveyed something in his eyes, though, since Samantha suddenly stepped forward and managed to clear out all of the reporters from the locker room within three minutes with a few quick words and promises that there would be statements released later from the organization, leaving only the team in the locker room. Samantha immediately got her cell phone out and had a hurried conversation with someone once the doors had closed.

 

Once she had finished with her conversation, Samantha whipped around to glare at both of them. “What the hell were they talking about?” she asked. All Sidney could do was just look between Geno and Samantha with a wide-eyed look on his face. Geno wasn't much better, except he was just staring at Samantha.

 

Samantha sighed. “All right. Let me make some more calls. You two,” she said, pointing at both Sidney and Evgeni, “you need to get up to Shero's office. _Now_.” As she turned back to her cell phone, Sidney heard her mutter, “How in the _hell_ am I going to fix this?”

 

* * *

 

Sidney and Evgeni sat in Shero's office, watching Ray while he was on the phone with someone. It seemed to be a lot of just “Uh-huh's” and “No's” from Shero's end of the conversation. He finally hung up after several awkward minutes of them just sitting there, but didn't say anything. He just sat there with his fingers steepled and looked at both Sidney and Evgeni.

 

“So,” Shero began. “Do you two mind explaining this? Sid?”

 

“It's not- I mean, we're not, not involved or anything like that! I didn't think Geno was actually the same person as my wrist-name! I thought it was just a coincidence.”

 

“Wait, so what you're saying is you've known that Geno's name matches your wrist-name, but you decided that it wasn't important enough to let us know?”

 

“No!” Sid shouted. He immediately lowered his voice once he realized that he was coming across as slightly crazy with the shouting. “No,” he continuted, “I didn't know that Geno's name was on my wrist until Sergei said something a while back. I never bothered to figure out what it said when I was younger. I honestly didn't know what it said.”

 

“Okay, that explains one part. Why didn't you tell us once you found out what it said?” Shero asked.

 

“I- I didn't think that it was a big deal. Honestly! I didn't think that it was actually Geno! He's never said anything to me about it, so how was I supposed to know that he was the match?” Sidney said in a frantic tone.

 

“How likely is it that the _Evgeni Malkin_ on your wrist happens to be the same Evgeni Malkin that you play with? I'd say pretty damn likely! You should have said something! Even a quick heads-up so that we could figure out how to proceed if someone had seen your wrist-name and they _didn't_ match!”

 

“What about Geno?” Sidney asked. He knew he was coming across as petulant and whiny, but couldn't stop himself. “Geno had my name and could actually read it! How come he's not getting yelled at about this too?”

 

Shero sighed. “Because I expected better of you, Sid,” he said. “I expected you to bring any issues that could affect the team to our attention, especially now that you're the captain! And now, we have a PR nightmare on our hands. Other teams are already trying to accuse us of trying to sneak you two around and give us an unfair advantage with your connection to one another. So, I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do here and how we're going to handle this.”

 

“I sorry,” Evgeni said, speaking for the first time since Samantha had told them to come up to Shero's office. He still hadn't looked at Sidney, however.

 

“Geno, why didn't _you_ say anything? You could read what your wrist-name said, couldn't you?” Shero asked.

 

“I meet Sid for first time, no reaction from him. Decide he not match, and not know if name on wrist girl or boy, so not say anything,” Evgeni said. He looked miserable and still was avoiding Sidney's gaze.

 

Shero sighed once again. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could begin, his phone rang. He picked it up and walked out into the hallway, leaving Sidney and Evgeni in his office by themselves.

 

“Sid? What do now?” Evgeni asked him softly as soon as they were alone.

 

“I don't know, Geno. I'm sure Shero'll tell us what'll happen to us, but I just don't know,” Sidney responded.

 

“Trade happen?”

 

“I don't know. I think it's also going to matter what the NHL says. They've never made a ruling on the Sedins playing together, because they tested them separately, but they might say that this is giving us an advantage and not let us play together,” Sidney said. He hated the uncertainty of it, of not knowing if he was going to be allowed to play or not. This was exactly why he never told anyone about his wrist-name. It just made for a bigger mess! He couldn't imagine what he would do if the NHL said that he and Geno couldn't play together and forced the Pens to trade one of them.

 

Sidney didn't know what the final say was going to be. There had never been people who had found their wrist-names playing together professionally in any sport, other than the Sedins. There simply weren't enough pairs who had found one another to test if there was an advantage to playing together or not. Hearing the jiggle of the door handle, Sidney turned to look and saw Shero coming back into the office.

 

“Okay, gentlemen. So, I spoke with Bettman and he's already had some calls from the other teams that are concerned about this.”

 

“So, what's going to happen then?” Sidney asked, anxious to hear what the final verdict would be. Shero looked annoyed at the interruption, but continued after shooting Sidney a look.

 

“The league wants to evaluate you two. They're going to spend the next week with you two figuring out how this affects your playing and what it does to you two on the ice. You're going to have to go to New York, and will be missing at least the first two games of the series, maybe more.”

 

“What? No! We can't miss games for this! It's the playoffs!” Sidney exclaimed. Beside him, Evgeni had a horrified expression on his face at the thought of missing any games during the playoffs.

 

“Well, you both should have thought about the effects of this before you decided not to tell anyone about your wrist-names. The League will not let you play until you get this checked out, so if you don't go this week, you don't get to play anyway until you do. Now, I'm not happy about this either, but you can't play until you go, so you might as well do it and get it over with,” Shero said.

 

“We go,” Evgeni said. Sidney looked over at him, in surprise. Evgeni continued, “We go, we come back, we win Cup. Cannot win until go, so we go.” Sidney sighed as he realized the inevitability of going to go get tested.

 

“Okay. Fine. We'll go and get this over with,” Sidney said. But he wasn't going to like it.

 

* * *

 

Four days later, Sidney was in a room with a bond specialist that the League had set up for him. Geno had a different specialist assigned just to him, and together they were evaluating the bond between Sidney and Evgeni. After they had left Pittsburgh and arrived in New York, there were different representatives from the League to take look at their skating. They also put them through a bunch of drills separately as well as together. Right now, however, they were simply interviewing Sidney and Evgeni separately.

 

“So, Sidney, tell me what happened when you first met Evgeni,” The specialist, Doctor Del Rosa asked.

 

“I met him when he came to Mario's house for dinner after he flew in from Russia. I shook his hand, introduced myself, and we ate dinner,” Sidney responded.

 

“Yes, but what happened _between_ you two,” the other man said.

 

“I just told you. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, and that was it,” Sidney said. He was wondering what this had to do with the bond that supposedly existed between him and Geno. Talking about something that happened a few years ago didn't seem to have any bearing on what was going on now and if they were going to be able to play again.

 

“But what did you feel, Sidney? What were the thoughts that you had when you met Evgeni?” the doctor asked.

 

Sidney sighed. He was sick of this doctor already, but answered anyway. “I don't know. I felt happy that he was in Pittsburgh. That he was going to make us a better team. That I couldn't wait to play with him. Look, I'm not sure what you want from me here. I didn't have some big revelation when we touched, or whatever the stories say. I didn't immediately fall in love with him, or want to be around him all the time. So what do you want me to say?”

 

“Okay,” Doctor Del Rosa said. “Let's try something different then. I want you to concentrate on Evgeni and tell me what he was feeling when the two of you met.”

 

“What do you mean, concentrate on him? Concentrate on him how?” Sidney asked.

 

“I just want you to focus your thoughts on Evgeni. Any thoughts of him that you have, whether it's how he plays hockey, or a memory of something he's done, or his voice, or how he makes you feel, anything like that, as long as it's about Evgeni. Once you've made that connection, I want you to tell me what Evgeni was feeling when the two of you met,” Doctor Del Rosa said.

 

“Okay,” Sidney said. He could do this. He had memories of Geno, of them playing during games, or practicing. He would focus on those.

 

Sidney began sifting through his memories. He pulled every one that he had of Evgeni, waiting for something to happen. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing or how he was supposed to accomplish whatever it was, just that Doctor Del Rosa had said to focus on Geno. After about five minutes of Sidney simply sitting there, he opened his eyes and looked at the doctor.

 

“This isn't working. What is this supposed to accomplish?”

 

“Sidney, I need you to concentrate,” the doctor said. He was starting to sound annoyed with Sidney's lack of cooperation. “In order to properly analyze the bond, I need to know how the two of you connect and what works for the two of you. Now, please focus.”

 

Slightly chastised, Sidney closed his eyes again and thought of the last goal that Evgeni had scored. This time, though, he had barely begun thinking of Geno when the sound of the doctor shifting in his chair drew him back out of his thoughts.

 

“I can't do this,” Sidney said as he opened his eyes and looked at Doctor Del Rosa.

 

“Alright, Sidney,” the doctor said with a sigh. “Let's call Evgeni back in here. I think that we need to take a different approach here.” The doctor got up and went to go gather Geno from the other room that he was in, presumably going through the same testing that Sidney was. Shortly after leaving, Doctor Del Rosa was back with Geno in tow, who sat down in the chair nearest to Sidney while the doctor sat in the chair facing them.

 

“Okay, this time, I'm going to ask you some questions about the other person, and I want you to tell me the answers,” Doctor Del Rosa said. “Let's begin with you, Sidney. What is Evgeni's favorite food?”

 

“Um...” Sidney thought for a moment. Suddenly the image of Geno's mother standing at a stove popped into his head. The shape of a word that seemed to carry with it a hint of the timbre of Geno's voice filled his own head. “His mother's pelmeni?”

 

“Evgeni?”

 

“Sid right,” Evgeni replied.

 

“Okay, good. This is progress,” the doctor said, interrupting what Sidney was about to say to Evgeni. He looked pleased with this development, and thus spent the next hour asking Evgeni and Sidney several questions about each other, and each time they were able to answer them correctly. As the questions became more and more personal, though, Sidney began to squirm and fidget in his chair. Evgeni, several times, had made like he was going to do the same, but managed to stop himself before doing much more than shifting positions slightly.

 

They finished up with the doctor's questions, and were told that they would be called back to the office, once the results were analyzed.

 

* * *

 

“Alright,” Doctor Del Rosa said as they sat back in his office two days later. “We've gone over the results from your skating tests, as well as the interview that we did here in the office. What everything seems to confirm is that you are a match for each other's wrist-names.”

 

“So, what does that mean, exactly? For us, and playing hockey,” Sidney said, as he shot a look sideways at Evgeni sitting on his right.

 

“Basically, with the bond that exists between the two of you, you are more in tune with each other than the average person, particularly when it comes to being within sight of one another,” the doctor responded. “With regards to hockey, it obviously has heightened the playing ability between you two, how you can find one another on the ice, and making blind passes to another. It's obviously a great benefit to the both of you out there.”

 

“The bond. Is romantic? Or is friend bond?” Evgeni asked.

 

“There's no way for us to tell that for sure, Evgeni,” Doctor Del Rosa answered. “This would have to be something that is monitored and evaluated as time went on. If I had to guess, however, I would probably say that the two of you have a romantic bond, as friendship and sibling bonds tend to be characterized by a more broad sense of awareness between the two people in the bond.”

 

“What mean?” Evgeni asked. Sidney looked over at him, and saw the same expression of confusion that he was sure was present on his own face.

 

“What I mean is, is that people who are in friendship or sibling bonds can usually tell what the other person is thinking and feeling, even when they are not in the line of sight of that person. Romantic bonds usually present themselves like the bond between the two of you is presenting, with a tighter focus between the participants, such as needing to be within sight of one another to tell what the other is thinking with any accuracy. The common theory is that the brain's functions are being taken up with the heightened sexual,” here Sidney's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, “and romantic feelings, so there is a smaller field of the, to use a colloquial term, _mind-reading_ that is available to the person. Does that make sense?” the doctor questioned.

 

“Think so. So saying Sid and I going be in relationship now?” Evgeni responded. Sidney looked sharply back at Evgeni.

 

“No, no, not necessarily. The bond can heighten the feelings between the two of you that it activates in the brain, and can make those feelings easier to access. It cannot force you to act upon them, though.”

 

“So, I guess, what can we expect from this then?” Sidney asked.

 

“I can't really tell you two that. Each bond is unique, not to mention that there are so few people that have found their wrist-names to base our findings on that it's difficult to say how yours will proceed. I'd suggest letting the bond unfold naturally, as it has been doing since the two of you met,” the doctor finished, leaning back in his chair.

 

“We play then?” Evgeni asked.

 

“That ruling is up to the league officials. I've sent them my findings, and they'll be the ones to let you know what the outcome of their ruling is.” With that final pronouncement, a clear dismissal, Sidney and Evgeni left the doctor's office to return to the hotel that they were staying in while they were in New York.

 

* * *

 

“So what do we want to do about this?” Sidney asked as they walked into the elevator at the hotel and headed up to the floor that their rooms were on.

 

“Wait and see what league say, I guess,” Evgeni responded. The elevator reached their floor and they both got out. Sidney followed Evgeni to his room, ready to tell him that they had to have a contingency plan in place if the league decided that they couldn't play with one another. But before he could actually go with Evgeni into the room, Evgeni turned to Sidney as if he knew how Sidney was going to react.

 

“We wait, Sid. Not do anything until hear from league. No point.”

 

“Okay. Okay. See you later, Geno,” Sidney said. He turned to go to his own room, but was stopped momentarily by the sound of Evgeni's voice.

 

“Will be alright, Sid. League will say can play. Have to. They let Sedins play, they let us.”

 

* * *

 

The league did, in fact, rule that they could play together. Not that it did the team much good at the end of the run that season. After Sidney and Evgeni had rejoined the team to take the series against the Rangers in five, they soundly beat the Flyers for the Eastern Conference title, and made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. No matter what their connection was, it couldn't translate into a win and the Cup for them. Still, though, it had filled the team with hope, as it was the first Finals appearance for the team since 1992, when they had last won the Cup, even.

 

_Next year_. That was the phrase in everyone's minds. _Next year_.

 

* * *

 

“We need to figure out what we're going to do about this bond, Geno,” Sidney said. He was standing in the foyer of Geno's house, attempting to talk to him about the bond that they were now aware that they shared.

 

“What need figure out, Sid? Bond there. We play hockey. Make hockey better. That it.”

 

“But what about the bond, though?” Sidney replied. “What about how this is going to affect us?” He was well aware of the fact that he sounded as though he were panicking and to be quite honest, he was. He honestly and truly did not believe that he would ever meet his wrist-name in his life. The fact that he had actually done so was throwing him for a loop. He had to get this under control before it started to really affect their game adversely.

 

“You hear doctor. Bond not affect unless we want. Just focus on hockey. Bond be great for that,” Evgeni replied. “Will work on ice stuff when come back from Russia.”

 

“But-” Sidney began, but then snapped his mouth shut when Evgeni interrupted him.

 

“Figure out when back from Russia,” Evgeni said firmly. “Need go to airport now. Give ride?”

 

Sidney sighed. He wasn't going to get any further with Evgeni, obviously. At least, not until Geno was back from Russia. “Sure. Let's go.”

 

* * *

 

The summer flew by with Geno spending the time in Russia, and Sid spending it back in Canada. Once again, they found themselves back in Pittsburgh, gearing up for the start of the season. Sidney walked into the locker room for the first day of training camp feeling slightly apprehensive about seeing Geno for the first time since the season had ended. Yes, they had texted sporadically throughout the summer, but they were short, simple texts. Nothing with real substance behind it.

 

Sidney had done quite a bit of thinking over the summer about the bond, as well as reading any information that he could get his hands on about how bonds presented themselves. He came to the conclusion around the end of July that it wasn't the fact that he had found his wrist-name in the first place, it was the fact that he didn't know what it meant for his hockey. None of the books or articles or studies could tell him how this was going to affect him on ice. He was just going to have to wait until the time came that he could talk with Geno.

 

Which was apparently now.

 

As Sidney entered the locker room, he was greeted by the guys who were still there from the previous season, including Geno. A weight that Sidney didn't even realize that he even had was lifted off his chest once he gave Evgeni a one-armed, back-slapping hug. The minute he tried talking to Geno, however, Geno turned away to greet Max.

 

Guess that solved the problem about what to say to Geno right away.

 

The team had managed to finish day one of training camp in various states of exhaustion. It was at this time that Sidney decided he would try to talk to Geno.

 

"Geno, can you come over after we get done here? I think we need to talk about this bond," Sidney said in an undertone. He was attempting to not be overheard, but that proved to be futile.

 

"Yeah, come on!" Max called as he was pulling on his shirt. "You two should figure this shit out between you two and how we can use it during games. What's the point of you two being on the same team if you're not going to use it to our advantage!"

 

"Mind own business, Max," Evgeni called back. He turned back towards Sidney and said, "I come over. Give ride?"

 

"Sure, Geno."

 

* * *

 

Sidney unlocked the door to his house and motioned for Evgeni to go in ahead of him. He took Evgeni to the living room after making a detour in the kitchen and grabbing two Gatorades from the refrigerator. He tossed one to Evgeni as they entered the living room, taking a seat in an armchair by the window as Evgeni sat on the couch.

 

"So, Geno," Sidney began. He paused after that, considering his words. He took a swig of Gatorade to wet his throat before continuing. "How are we going to do this?"

 

"Do what? Play with bond?" Evgeni asked.

 

"Yeah. I mean, shouldn't we work with this? Get the connection closer? Help out the team?"

 

"Want bond be closer? Want relationship?" Here Evgeni looked confused. Like he couldn't believe that that was actually something that Sidney wanted.

 

"No! Not a relationship! Not- Not a relationship at all! I was just figuring that we could use it to help our game. I mean, if we know how to control this thing, or whatever, then we can use it out on the ice. To help us," Sidney finished, weakly.

 

"Help how?"

 

Sidney took another drink of his Gatorade before answering. "I mean, just helping us with knowing where the other is on the ice all the time. You heard the doctor when we were in New York. The bond has helped our game already. Maybe making it closer would help even more?" Sidney said. He noticed that his leg was jiggling and forcibly made himself stop and sit still.

 

"Want work on bond? Think help team win Cup?" Geno asked.

 

"Maybe? I don't know, Geno! Shouldn't we at least try? We've got the bond and have to deal with it, so shouldn't we use it to help us if we can? What's it going to hurt if we do get a closer connection?" Sidney hated how he sounded as though he were pleading with Geno to get him to agree to try to deepen the bond. He really wasn't. He was only trying to help the team out as best as he could.

 

Geno seemed to be contemplating Sidney's words as he sat on the sofa, his hands playing with the label on his bottle. "If get closer, how work?" he asked.

 

"I don't know. The doctor said that it was affected by line of sight, so maybe we just work on our passes when we're out on the ice together? This bond's got to be good for something, right? We should be able to get better."

 

"Okay. Bond get better, game get better," Evgeni said. "Let's do."

 

"Wait, really? You don't want to think about it some more, Geno?" Sidney didn't want to question Evgeni, but he wanted to make sure that he had heard Geno right and that Geno didn't want to take more time to think about it.

 

"No need think. Think about in Russia over summer. Think same as you. Get hockey better. Get Cup. Win lots," Evgeni replied. He finished his drink and stood up. Sidney stood up as well and followed Geno to the door.

 

* * *

 

"Why isn't this working? I can't feel you any differently or more or anything than I did before!" Sidney exclaimed two days later. He was frustrated at the fact that he and Geno had not seemed to make any progress on enhancing and controlling their bond any more than they had before the summer.

 

"I try, Sid. We keep work at it," Geno replied.

 

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong though," Sidney said, aware of a whine creeping into his voice.

 

"How we do in doctor's office? That what we have do now. Now run drill again."

 

This time, as they ran the play, Sidney tried to focus all the concentration that he could spare on Geno. Then, without warning, Evgeni changed up the play slightly, as they had been doing all day to test the bond, and Sidney just _knew_ where Evgeni was going to be in the next five seconds. He shifted his body weight just as he was about to pass the puck to where Evgeni would have been had they been running the play properly, and made a perfect blind pass behind him to where Geno now was. After that, all Evgeni had to do was tap the puck into the goal.

 

Sidney gave a whoop of excitement as he saw the puck go into the goal and skated up to Evgeni and gave him a helmet tap. After discussing the play with Evgeni some, Sidney and him ran the drill several more times before calling it a day.

 

By the end of the practice, it was taking Sidney and Evgeni no time at all to figure out where the other player was going to be on ice. Sidney was confident that they would be able to do this during a game and told Geno so.

 

"Of course it work during game. We best, Sid!" Geno said.

 

Sidney smiled at Evgeni before they went their separate ways, happy about the fact that this was going to up both of their games. This was going to be the Penguins' year.

 

* * *

 

The team was now deep into the season and Evgeni and Sidney had only deepened their on-ice connection. They seldom needed to discuss plays that they were going to make. They just simply did them and instantly knew what the other was going to do.

 

Everything seemed to be going great for the most part between the two of them. However, the same could not be said for the rest of the team. Suddenly it was injury after injury, and the on-ice chemistry between the rest of the team was no longer there.

 

The one thing that wasn't great with regards to their bond was the fact that for the past several mornings, including the current one, Sidney had woken up with memories of very vivid dreams. Dreams about Geno.

 

It wasn't that Sidney didn't enjoy the result of the dreams, other than the cleaning up, but it was the fact that it was about Geno, a teammate and a friend, that he had the issue with. Though he had the feeling that Geno was experiencing the same type of dreams as he was, because when Evgeni had been having trouble meeting Sidney's eyes in the mornings.

 

Sidney thought back to the doctor's visit that he and Evgeni had had during the last playoffs and how the doctor had told them that the bond was more than likely a romantic bond. Everything that he had read up on over the summer had mentioned the part of a romantic bond that made it different from sibling or friendship bonds. Erotic dreams about your wrist-name seemed to be par for the course in the bonds earlier stages, unconscious thoughts though they were.

 

_Fuck_ was all that Sidney could think as he lay in bed. This wasn't what he wanted, to force Geno into something, and he could pretty much guarantee that this wasn't what Geno wanted, either. _Fuck_ , he thought again. He was going to have to talk to Geno about this. Luckily there was no practice that morning, as they had to take an early afternoon flight out.

 

All he could think about was that this was one more thing that could go wrong with the team.

 

* * *

 

"What do you want to do, then?" Sidney was sitting on Evgeni's couch later that morning as he asked the question. He had managed to stutter his way through an extremely embarrassing conversation about the dreams that he was having and that Geno confirmed he was having as well, about how the dreams were affecting each of them.

 

"Remember. Doctor say we not have to act on feelings. Both of us don't want, don't do. Simple," Evgeni replied.

 

"You make it sound so easy," Sidney said ruefully. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, avoiding Geno's gaze. "Shouldn't there be like, I don't know, a handbook or something for how to deal with this?"

 

"I look while in Russia. No books about how deal with bond thoughts."

 

"I know. I've looked, too. It just seems like it should all be easier than it is, you know? You've seen all the movies, right? The ones that show wrist-names meeting and just getting it _right_ , right away? Shouldn't it be like that?"

 

"Is movies, Sid. Not real life. Should know better," Geno sounded almost chiding as he said this.

 

"I know, but how can you be so calm about all this? You just seem to not really care about it at all, when all that I can think about is the fact that this could fuck up our game!" Sidney exclaimed.

 

"It not that I not care, it that it not important. Bond second to hockey. Did not matter before we found out we each other wrist-name. Not matter now that we know. We need keep playing."

 

Sidney just shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't believe Geno. It was that he didn't work like that. He tended to be one that would obsess over what everything meant in terms of his game and how he played. Geno seemed to be able to put it off to the side.

 

* * *

 

Evgeni sighed as he shut the door behind Sidney and leaned his back against it. He was glad that Sidney was gone, for the simple fact that their conversation was over, but couldn't deny that he had felt calmer with him there. Evgeni thought over his conversation that he had just had with Sidney and hoped that he was able to convey everything to him that he wanted. Or at least, managed to mask what how much the bond was affecting him.

 

The dreams that Evgeni had been having about Sidney jumped into the forefront of his mind and caused him to blush again. It wasn't that he had never been attracted to men before, because he had. It was simply that it was Sidney.

 

Sidney, who could feel what Evgeni was feeling, or at least would once the bond deepened further. The dreams were embarrassing due to all the completely different sexual acts that Evgeni's unconscious put the two of them through together. It was as though Evgeni's mind was working it's way through a catalog of pornographic sexual acts, ticking them off as he dreamt them.

 

As this thought came into Evgeni's head, his mind flashed back to the dream that he had had last night, featuring him taking Sidney apart with his hands and mouth. Evgeni could feel himself growing hard at the thoughts that came into his head, and he willed himself to stop.

 

The more he tried not to think about Sidney, though, the more that his mind couldn't stay off him. He only grew harder the more he tried to think about something, anything, that wasn't Sidney Crosby. He quickly realized that nothing was going to make his erection go away, other than an orgasm.

 

Evgeni quickly unzipped his jeans and thrust his hand down in his boxers. As he gripped himself, the image of Sidney down on his knees in front of him came into his thoughts. He moved his hand faster over himself as the image of Sidney opened his mouth and took Geno down to the root. He continued to stroke himself as he imagined how Sidney would suck him and move his mouth over him.

 

All too soon and yet not soon enough, Evgeni could feel the tell-tale tingling that signaled that he was about to come. As his mind's image of Sidney swallowed around him, Evgeni orgasmed. He caught the strings of semen in his hand and sagged backwards against the door. He realized that he was breathing hard and struggled to catch his breath and calm himself down.

 

Evgeni pushed himself off the wall and went clean himself up and get ready for the flight out that afternoon. He just hoped that the memory of what he had just done could be kept at bay while he was stuck on the road with Sidney.

 

* * *

 

It was now March and the team finally seemed to have pulled itself together. After Bylsma came on as the new coach and they had a string of wins, it seemed to raise everyone's spirits and everyone was playing the best hockey of their lives.

 

It was during the last game of the regular season against the Flyers, however, that things with regards to the bond took a new turn. Sidney drew a tripping penalty from Coburn, which normally would have upset him enough all on its own, but when paired with what Coburn said to him after the play had stopped and the referee had called the penalty, it incensed him.

 

"What's the matter, Crosby? Malkin not fucking you enough? Gotta roll over for anyone on the ice now? For the refs that you're obviously fucking instead?"

 

"Fuck off you fucking asshole!" Sidney went to grab the front of Coburn's sweater and was immediately pulled away by a linesman with a warning to watch it or he'd get a roughing penalty. As Coburn spouted off more shit about Sidney, Sidney could feel himself getting ready for a fight. He didn't care about a penalty, all he wanted to do was punch Coburn's face in.

 

Suddenly, a rush of calmness that wasn't anywhere close to how he was feeling came over Sidney and he immediately felt his anger subside. He looked around the ice and made eye contact with Geno, who was staring at him intently. A second feeling of calm and peace came to the forefront of Sidney's mind as he was looking at Evgeni. He skated away from Coburn as the other man made his way to the penalty box and was ready to continue the game.

 

After the period was over, Sidney caught up to Evgeni as they were headed back to the locker room. He grabbed him by the elbow to stop him from entering so that he could talk with him.

 

"Hey, Geno. Was that you out there doing that?"

 

"Do what?"

 

"The whole calming me down thing," Sidney responded.

 

"Had to. Sid about to take penalty," Evgeni said, matter of factly.

 

"I was not!"

 

"Was. Not good for team. You need calm down. I do," Geno said. He turned away from Sidney and entered the locker room. Sidney was left wondering how the bond had progressed that far without him realizing it.

 

* * *

 

After that, it became easier for Sidney and Evgeni to influence the emotions of the other. While they were on the ice, that is. Off the ice, they were both glad that their connection hadn't asserted itself for the other to tell what they were thinking or dreaming about.

 

The dreams were in fact continuing and were becoming more intense with each passing night. The fact lately, whenever they were within sight of one another, Sidney couldn't keep himself from wanting to go over to Geno and just kissing him. Or dropping to his knees. Or pushing Geno to _his_ knees. Or really, doing anything to Geno that was in the dreams that he had been having.

 

Sidney shook his head to clear it. They were in a bar after their win over the Devils and now was _not_ the time to be having sexual thoughts about Geno. Not while Flower and Max were on his left as they sat in the booth. Geno was out on the dance floor somewhere, which was perfect for Sidney. If Geno wasn't in sight, all the better.

 

Except that was the time that Evgeni decided to stumble back to the table. He squeezed in beside Sidney in the booth and proceeded to throw his arm over the back of the seat, brushing Sidney's shoulders as he did so.

 

Suddenly, Sidney was hit with a rush of emotions that he was fairly certain were not coming from him. Lust and want were the first emotions to hit him, rolling over him in waves, followed closely by denial. Sidney looked sharply over at Geno on his right and as their eyes made contact with each other, he felt a new hit of arousal and want come over him. This time he was pretty sure that it was his own emotions

 

The parts of his body that Evgeni's arm was touching felt hotter than even the crowded room warranted. He felt the emotions compounding on one another, caught in a feedback loop where Geno's emotions fed his own and his fed Geno's, until his entire body hummed with need.

 

He opened his eyes that had, at some point, closed and looked back into Evgeni's eyes. What he saw there made his breath catch in his throat and his pants grow tighter. He saw the same arousal and want that he was sure was written all over his own face reflected back at him in Evgeni's gaze.

 

It was good to know that it wasn't just him who was affected by this, but at the moment, all that Sidney cared about was getting somewhere that wasn't surrounded by his teammates or other people. He climbed over Geno while stuttering out something about how he had to leave and go home. In his scramble to get out of the booth, though, he accidentally put his hand on Geno's crotch.

 

He pulled back instantly as though he had just stuck his hand in a pot of boiling water, but not fast enough to fail to notice that Geno was hard, too. Evgeni let out a hiss through his teeth as Sidney made contact with his erection, which hopefully the team took as pain from Sidney hitting him.

 

Sidney didn't bother to turn around to answer the queries from the rest of the guys as he left. He needed to get out of there immediately, or he was going to embarrass himself. He managed to stumble outside the bar and get into his car when he simply couldn't wait anymore.

 

He quickly looked around to make sure that no one else was around who could see him. Once he had assured himself of being alone, he quickly brought himself off to thoughts of Geno. After a perfunctory clean up, Sidney simply sat in his car for several minutes with his eyes closed and his head leaning back against the head rest wondering what he was going to do about this now.

 

He wanted Geno. There was no denying that. The question was how did Geno feel about him. The answer to that, Sidney feared, was that Geno didn't want him at all. After all, Evgeni had said that he didn't want to act on these feelings, who was Sidney to push him into something that he didn't want.

 

* * *

 

After Sidney had left the bar, Evgeni had managed to calm himself down, albeit with difficulty. He forced himself to stay with the guys and participate in the conversations flowing around him, but it was hard because he knew exactly what Sidney was doing. Well, all right, he didn't _know_ in the sense that he could feel it, but he knew what _he_ would be doing if he had been able to escape and figured that Sidney would be doing the same.

 

"Geno! Geno, you okay?" Max's words cut through his thoughts.

 

"Yeah. I fine," Evgeni responded.

 

"You sure? You look a little warm. Something to do with Sid leaving so quickly, maybe?" Max's voice took on a teasing tone.

 

"No. Just thinking how sad that all these pretty girls here and you not get laid. All girls too pretty for you. Need take you to uglier bar next time," Evgeni said. He was trying to get Max and the rest of the guys off the subject of Sidney leaving so abruptly, and it worked. The rest of the group quickly took up the abuse of Max and began chirping him and ignoring Evgeni.

 

Evgeni didn't know if he should approach Sidney about the affects that the bond was having on them or if he should just let it be. He was leaning towards the latter, for the simple fact that he knew that Sidney didn't want to bond to become sexual. He had flat-out said that he didn't want a relationship with Geno when he had asked earlier in the year. Why would he have changed his mind in such a short amount of time?

 

* * *

 

Emotions were rolling over Sidney in waves coming from both himself and Geno. They had just won the Cup and as Sidney raised the trophy over his head in the locker room again he felt not just his own pride and sense of accomplishment, but Geno's as well. He looked across the room, through the throngs of people and champagne that were between the two, and made eye contact and once again felt the now-familiar pull of arousal towards Geno.

 

Sidney crossed the room and was pulled into a hug by Geno as soon as he was within arm's length.

 

"Sid! We did! We win Cup!" Geno said as he was grinning from ear to ear. It was shouted right into Sidney's ear, but he didn't care. He could feel Geno's breath on his cheek and neck, and at the moment, that was all that was important.

 

"Fuck yeah we did!" Sidney breathed out. He was looking up at Geno and all that seemed to matter was the two of them in the room. He felt the arousal course through him again as he took in Geno's grinning face and happy, excited eyes. He couldn't stop the small moan that escaped from him as he felt himself grow hard at the sight.

 

Geno's gaze changed from happy and excited to aroused and lustful as he looked back down at Sidney. He tore his eyes away from Sid to look around the room and finally seeing something that caught his eye, grabbed Sidney by the wrist and ducked through and around the different groups of people until they reached a door to the trainers' room.

 

Evgeni opened the door and, after taking a quick look around to make sure no one else was in there, pulled Sidney in behind him and quickly shut the door. That was all the warning that Sidney got before he was pressed up against the wall of the room and was being kissed to within an inch of his life. His hands scrambled for something to hold onto and settled on grabbing Geno's shirt at the shoulders.

 

Sidney felt Geno's tongue probing at his mouth and opened up. Geno took the opportunity to lick his way into Sidney's mouth, drawing a moan out of Sidney. The adrenaline coursed through Sidney and he channeled that into the kiss that he and Evgeni were now sharing. He changed the angle of his head and moved his hand up to cup the back of Geno's head and was able to take control of the kiss for the moment. It was desperate and needy, both fighting for dominance as Geno tore his lips away from Sidney to begin sucking a mark onto his neck that drew a groan from Sidney that he tried to muffle.

 

They were still in their hockey pants and weren't able to get any friction or contact. It didn't seem to matter, though, as all too soon Sidney felt himself coming untouched. He leaned his head forward onto Geno's shoulder in time to feel Geno's body shudder with his own orgasm.

 

They leaned onto each other for several long minutes as they both struggled to catch their breath after the fact, supported by the wall at Sidney's back. As it started to feel uncomfortable, they slowly pulled away from each other. They stared at each other for a brief moment before Evgeni set his jaw and quickly moved out the door, back into the celebration that was currently taking place in the locker room.

 

Sidney sagged back against the wall after Evgeni had left. He had no clue about what just happened meant. All he knew was that he had just came harder than he ever had before in his life. He rubbed a hand over his sweaty face and mentally braced himself to go back out into the chaos.

 

* * *

 

The next time that Sidney really had a chance to talk with Geno was after all the celebrations and the parade was done, and Geno was getting ready to head back to Russia for the rest of the summer, both to spend time with his family, and to go to the Russian Olympic training camp. Sidney had been waiting for an opportune moment to talk to Evgeni in between all the interviews that both of them seemed to have to do and all of the celebrating that the entire city was participating in.

 

That's not to say that they hadn't seen each other. No, they had managed to have several more intense makeout sessions in between the interviews, the bars, and before the parade. Each one culminated in both men orgasming while trying to keep their gasps, moans, and groans as quiet as possible to not be overheard by anyone else.

 

So, Sidney found himself at Evgeni's house, once again, watching him pack up his things to leave the next day to finish the summer in Russia. He was sitting on the bed in Evgeni's room as Geno filled a bag with clothes from his closet. He figured that the best thing to do was to just jump right into the discussion.

 

"Look, Geno. I think it's pretty obvious that the bond's affecting us."

 

"Yes. But summer apart will be good. Bond can quiet down. We go back to normal when season start," Geno replied. He hadn't met Sidney's eyes once since letting him in the door a little bit ago.

 

"Is that what you want? For the bond to quiet down?" Sidney asked as he chewed on his lower lip. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to his question.

 

"Is best. Spend summer apart, not feel so strong when come back," Evgeni responded.

 

"Or it's just going to get stronger," Sidney pointed out.

 

"Not know for sure," Geno admitted. "Most people with names match want be together. Spend all time together right away. You know stories. We not like that." And those words cause a spike of pain through Sidney at the thought that Evgeni didn't want him.

 

"Alright. We'll just have to wait and see what the bond's like when you come back for training camp." Here Sidney stood up from the bed. The movement finally drew Evgeni's eyes up to meet Sidney's. They held each other's gaze for a moment before Sidney crossed the room and pulled Evgeni into a quick hug and murmured, "Have a good trip home," into Evgeni's ear, then turned and left the room and house.

 

* * *

 

What Sidney had thought would happen over the summer with regards to the bond actually did happen. The minute that they saw each other for the first time after the summer, it was all the feelings that they had experienced before, magnified tenfold.

 

The bad part of it was, was that they were at the first day of training camp for the year and they couldn't do anything about it until it was over. At the end of the day, though both were exhausted, Sidney tried to approach Geno to see how he was handling everything, except by the time that Sidney had finished showering and getting dressed, Geno had already gone from the locker room. When Sidney asked around about him, was told that Evgeni had gone home.

 

Sidney decided that this avoidance of the issue had to stop and made his decision to go to Geno's house and try to catch him there. He drove over to Geno's house mentally rehearsing what he was going to say when he saw the other man, but all words promptly left him once Evgeni opened the door to let him in. Evgeni had his shoulders slumped in what looked to be defeat as he took in who was on his doorstep and let Sidney in to his foyer.

 

Sidney couldn't help himself and blurted out right away, "Geno, we have to stop this."

 

"Stop what, Sid?"

 

" _This_! Look, I know you said that you didn't want this to turn into a relationship, but we're making ourselves miserable here! Obviously spending time apart this summer didn't stop the bond, so what's next?"

 

"Wait, never say I don't want relationship, Sid. Where you get idea?" Geno said, looking bewildered at Sidney's words.

 

"What? What do you mean? You said it back when we were getting evaluated by that doctor in New York! And you've said it a bunch of other times since then, too!"

 

"No, _you_ say _you_ not want relationship. Only care about hockey. Say so lots."

 

"What are you talking about? I've never said that!" Sidney said. How could they get so mixed up over each other?

 

"You say lots! Say can't let bond affect game. Say want use bond to make game better. How else I take?" Geno replied. He was looking frustrated with Sidney's lack of understanding and was running a hand through his hair. Sidney could almost _feel_ the bond crackle between them with intensity now.

 

"I didn't know you wanted anything more! I was trying to respect you and what you wanted! I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me beyond teammates," Sidney said.

 

"Want be with you for long time now, Sid. But you never ask. Never say, 'Geno, I want more'. Feel guilty I take what you not want give. Not feel like good person," Evgeni replied. He was looking down at his hands, which were clenched in fists by his sides, as though he were having to physically restrain himself for reaching out for Sidney.

 

"Geno," Sidney said earnestly, "I've wanted more since we started having those dreams. I just didn't want to force _you_."

 

"We been idiots," Evgeni said, looking up and meeting Sidney's eyes finally.

 

"Yeah, we really have," Sidney agreed.

 

"Can kiss, now? Since both want?" Geno asked. His eyes were filled with a familiar gaze of want and need that Sidney recognized from after their win of the Cup. He could only assume that the same was reflected in his own eyes.

 

"Yes," was all that Sidney got out before Evgeni had surged forward and grabbed him for a bruising kiss. Sidney gave just as good as he got, though, and both men fought for control of the kiss.

 

Somewhere in the middle of Sidney sucking a mark near Evgeni's collarbone, he heard words breaking the litany of moans that were escaping from Evgeni.

 

"Sid? Can take to bedroom? Please? Not want to stop this time."

 

"Yeah, let's go," Sidney answered. Evgeni grabbed Sidney by the hand and pulled him in the direction of his bedroom. Sidney let himself be pulled along, figuring that as long as he and Evgeni were now on the same page with regards to their bond, he should enjoy the ride.


End file.
